Amidst housing shortages that have become the status quo, a proposed development is promising to add thousands of new residential units to Toronto’s North York.
On Monday, an application was submitted to the City of Toronto on behalf of Westchester Limited proposing a high-rise mixed-use residential development and public park for 33 Walsh Avenue -- situated at the southeast corner of Weston Road and Walsh Avenue. This followed a Pre-Application Consultation Meeting on August 9.
The development would contain 2,452 units across six residential towers, including 11 studio units, 1,178 one-bedrooms, 443 one-bedrooms with dens, 443 two-bedrooms, 96 two-bedrooms with dens, and 281 three-bedrooms. The towers would range from 14 to 40 storeys, with podiums in the range of one to 12 storeys. A total of 1,316 parking spaces would be included on site.
In addition to the residential towers and public park, the application also details a retail component along the Weston Road frontage.
The site in question is already largely residential, with low-density neighbourhoods to the north, south, and west. While the proposed development would bring much more density to the area, the subject site is designated for high-density apartment use and the area has the infrastructure to support it.
The subject site is nearby the 400-series highway, as well as many schools, parks, places of worship, recreation facilities, healthcare facilities, transit connections, and a range of commercial and employment services.
Moreover, Westchester Limited’s application states that introducing a mix of (currently underrepresented) studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartment units is a much-needed move to better serve the community and Toronto at large -- particularly given the City’s population growth forecasts, which sees 1.3M new residents by 2051.
Although 33 Walsh Avenue is currently vacant, this is not the first development proposed for this particular spot. The site was previously subject to Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment applications, as well as two Committee of Adjustment applications. With that said, the approved development was never constructed.
33 Walsh Avenue is currently under review by the City.
